Marionette
by Cassidy Herrera
Summary: Kadma had only met Shiranui during that war-filled night. Under the numbness of the heavens, she made a promise to him- and to all of Japan- to all of the universe.


**A/N: They're just having small talks here, so read up. -clears throat-**

**Much knowledge regarding Hakuouki and W.I.T.C.H. are required to read this. I apologize.**

"_What are you going to do now?" Shiranui's voice was firm, yet quieter than usual—as for once, it blended so casually into the stillness of the night breeze._

"_Oh yeah. Shinpachi's waiting for me, so… I need to hurry to Aizu…" said his companion, Harada Sanosuke, who—at some point—tried to stop his wound from bleeding. But he wasn't in pain. Though he was pale, suffered quite a blood loss, and his eyes twitched, he really wasn't in pain. If anything, he just felt numb. He was desperate to go back to this aforementioned Shinpachi. A dear friend._

_But demons like him do not understand this kind of desperation. Not that he experienced desperation, truest sense of the word. What was left to be said?_

_He answered, "I see…"_

_For a moment, his sharp eyes were on the dark blue expanse of the sky. He smiled. It wasn't this dark in the usual days. Right now, it was because of all the smoke. He knew, then, that it'll all be over. How and when? It wasn't his concern._

_Suddenly, he heard a sound coming from Harada, who gave off a strained tone in his voice. It seemed like he was struggling to live at that point. It was almost a laughable sight. Of course, for a human, he looked absolutely pathetic. But he managed not to laugh. He didn't feel like it._

"… _I-Irma, too…"_

_Those were his last words._

_Shiranui looked at him—wide-eyed. Whoever this Irma was didn't concern him, in the same way he didn't care about that Shinpachi. Actually, nothing did. Not even his rival's current physical condition. Everything was just a surprise. Who were Shinpachi and Irma in his mortal life right now? As if they lasted forever; to long for their presence again has already become a complete impossibility. And when he mentioned the other name, Irma, he sounded and looked even more like a beaten stray dog._

_Shiranui didn't say whatever, except for one thing, "It's better not to go back to them, y'know?"_

It was true, then. Harada never did.

As Shiranui had shared to him before, he casually opted to visit Takasugi Shinsaku's grave. But he suddenly changed his mind. At a time like this, he couldn't help but admit it'd get really boring so long as he kept strolling around—not when more things have to be taken care of. It's not only the Rasetsu—and it's not only Yukimura Koudou.

There were just other things.

Just a bit far off from where he last sat down with Harada, he slowly walked along and noticed the bloodshed he and his companion caused. In gratitude to the silver bullets, the Rasetsu became powerless ten times more than when the others stubbornly used primitive weapons. Nothing more left to do here. He was afraid to admit that. For once.

"…"

Shiranui abruptly came to a stop when he heard the slightest faint of noise coming from behind. The fact that it was so faint was what threatened his instincts. And so he allowed it to threaten him—because by then, he suddenly turned around Godspeed with his gun right on position and pulled the trigger.

"Hey!" a girl's voice suddenly cried out as she jumped out of the way.

There was a rather long pause when that happened. Shiranui's eyes widened as his breath became audible in shock. His gun was still pointed in front of him. From afar, he looked quite of a statue. And so was his so-called target.

Unlike him, however, she recovered quickly. Her brows were already furrowed to punctuate her vexation and her stance looked like she was ready for any fight he might ensue out of nowhere. Her hair was tied up into a long ponytail just like his own. It was pretty well-kept. Her dark eyes were determined. Her skin shared a complexion similar to his. She looked like she was beaten up by gangsters. And she looked like she needed something to eat.

There was something about her arrogant, feisty way in which reminded him so much about himself, which was funny. He didn't want to laugh at her, because by then it would seem as if he was laughing at himself—and wouldn't that be an equally surreal experience?

"Hey, what's the deal?" she spat.

A _very _surreal experience.

He was stunned for a moment before he gave off a smirk. For a human so fragile, she has the audacity to try and prove that she isn't one. "That's one big mouth you have," he commented.

"You were the one who almost killed me!"

Stated matter-of-factly without a moment of pause. His calm stance didn't waver.

"But you slinked right behind me," he retorted with that same old deadpan demeanor. Shiranui lowered the gun. "So, who are you?"

His newfound companion stared right into his purple eyes. It was a rather deep connection, but really, despite their position at the moment, they mutually checked on each other—that is, to clarify whether or not they're actually meant to be enemies. It was getting more and more difficult to solidly put up a group of allies at a time like this, although Shiranui didn't have a problem with that as per usual. He could just shoot whoever got into his way—or whoever went against Kazama. That was his basic mechanism.

Finally, after a long bout of silence, she answered hesitantly, "Kadma."

Shiranui took his time scrutinizing her again. She wore a whimsical outfit. She had wings. She wore purple boots. The hues of her clothes contrasted her dark skin. It was quite deceiving—as if she was the type who'd go on a very comical adventure when in fact she has to encounter tragedies on a daily basis—or at least that was his first impression on her. In the darkness, he could see the wounds and scratches all over. Some parts of her clothes were even torn. Any normal person could pass out from those.

He snorted. What a waste of time. Humans really are in a rush to die.

"Hey, hey, let's end this, shall we?" he hastily declared as he was about to turn away.

"Wait."

He turned back. "Hm? What?"

"You… what's your name?"

He blinked a little. Wow, from all the observing, he didn't introduce himself—not that he cared about being polite. But then again, who cares even if he was in the first place? "Ah. My bad." He tilted his head a bit. "Shiranui Kyo."

The black-haired girl seemed to let her guard down a bit. For once, it wasn't so bad. He wasn't really one to pick a fight now, was he? Just that a lot of humans and demons alike came to gang up on him and it was not like there was any other choice than to give them the kind of hell they ever wanted.

"Shiranui…" Kadma took her precious time to register his name in her mind, and then decided to ask, "What are you doing out here?"

He stared at her. What was he doing out here, he wondered? He couldn't even answer that himself. "Now I could say the same thing about you." He played with his gun with one hand. "But I guess am out here to deal with more of those fakes."

"… Fakes?"

He gave off a slightly shocked reaction to her half-hearted response. "Don't be dumb."

"I saw you. You and your girl friends. In a fight with the Rasetsu you so confidently call _demons_."

"…"

She almost couldn't speak. It was true. She fought quite a couple of them a while ago. They weren't easy. Elemental powers served as impressive stuns, but not as effective in terms of finishing them off. That wasn't the point, though. She sensed a connection from Shiranui. Even hostility. He seemed to be a bit uptight about the Rasetsu being considered as demons. It was not like she even did so. He was being defensive in front of her. According to him, they are just pathetic imitations of true demons, a funny play of fakeries. It only showed how reliable he was in relation to the characteristics and ideals of a pure _oni_.

Which lead her to a valid conclusion.

"Then you're a demon?"

"Of course."

There was a slight glint of recognition in her eyes. Somehow, it reminded her of those moments when Chizuru had to hide.

"Kazama…"

"Oh?" He smiled. "So you know him."

She nodded. She hated Kazama's guts. She felt the same way for the rest of his kind. Even the one in front of her.

"Yeah. That guy." She clenched her fists. He saw.

"It's not only him. Even Koudou. The Rasetsu."

It was almost as if she decided to spit at his face. She heard about Shiranui's alliance with Kazama—and their involvement with the Rasetsu. But who knew humans actually got the wrong idea? Again, this was funny. Demons weren't devising a well-thought plan of destroying all of humankind. They even cared less about Koudou. Besides, it was not like humans were worth the kill in the first place.

_She_ wasn't worth the kill. So all he did was smirk. "Hey, hey." He slowly waved her off. "Do yourself a favor and quit asking for a fight."

And he continued to be full of himself. "Think that you're so free-spirited?" she responded.

He frowned. "I can't stand that old fart either. Shouldn't we call a truce for that one?"

Kadma abruptly retreated from her built-up rage. She was about fed up with the war. The New Government Army. Edo. The Yukimura clan. Everyone. It all turned out to be a silly bloody puppet show controlled by fate.

"… Then, shouldn't we stop them together?" she suggested, almost demanded, even. But he was unfazed. And he considered her offer. They both knew Japan would be royally screwed in many ways—and with all that's happening.

"Oi, oi. _You_ stop them." He shook his head and slowly glanced in another direction. "After all, isn't that your job?"

She twitched a little. "Hey—that doesn't mean—"

"I can't help. I've got hella lot of things on my back."

She wondered if that was true. The usual arrogant glint in his eyes disappeared.

"So, what are you going to do now?" he asked. He frankly questioned Harada the same way, but not for the same intention. His words weighed quite heavily, as if he was about to lay a rather heavy responsibility on her shoulders. She suddenly started to feel the burden for no apparent reason.

Kadma shrugged as casually as ever. "Will go back to my friends."

Shiranui stared at her almost as if she was dumb. In actuality, however, she was. But then he just smiled a little and turned his back on her. Kadma was quite arrogant in her own way. Her mannerisms were pukable. She was nosy and annoying. That was one summation. Most of all, she was actually against Kazama. Shiranui knew that for as long as she and her friends lived, he'd be in danger. He was strong. But not for very long. Definitely not for very long.

His eyes were constantly mesmerized by the shades of black and blue of the night. But only Japan could pull off that kind of beauty quite well, to be honest. He figured.

His mind just got tugged, however.

He felt a mild apprehension that—if he turned around, he'd pull the trigger of his gun at any instant. Then Japan would probably be destroyed. So he never looked back. He couldn't kill her.

So... to compensate for that...

"Yeah," he said. His head lowered a bit. God knows whether or not his smile faltered. "It's better if you go back to them, y'know?"

Even as he started to walk away, her gaze continued to fix on him. "Hey."

He stopped. His head turned, but not enough to look into her eyes anymore. "Hm?"

"Take care of yourself, Shiranui."

This finally made him grin slightly in amusement. "Oh? You really are insolent for a human." He shook his head.

When he completely turned away for the last time, he added, "Well. I'll leave the whole of Japan to you." He then raised his head slightly. "I owe you for that one damn thing."

He didn't look like he wanted to turn back. Let alone exist. Not anymore.

Kadma didn't really take orders, demands, and even requests from others. Her pride couldn't be more prominent than that. It stuck out like a sore thumb. She wasn't a slave now, was she? But then there were exceptions. Like the people she cared about. People she was interested in. And not anyone else.

Shiranui Kyo, wasn't he?

He told her to look after Japan.

Of course. He was only a stranger. _But… but… !_

Kadma suddenly raised her hand and called after the retreating figure, "I promise! It's a promise, _Shiranui… !_"

He didn't look her way anymore. He only disappeared into the darkness.

He definitely owed her everything.


End file.
